TallTroll - 11:08 am on Jun 19, 2001 (gmt 0)

Before I start, let me acknowledge that I am freely nicking ideas from various posts here. I'm hoping to consolidate some of what has been said, and trying for a first approximation at defining a consensus. It seems to me there are actually several related problems here

1) "Content borrowing" - a thorny one, as the free exchange of information is part of the ethos of the Internet. However, I agree that it isnt fair to posters of good content, or the community as a whole for information to be ripped off and posted elsewhere in uncredited form.

The obvious solutions are a) hide the good content behind a subscription wall, b) See about the possibility of "getting tough" with those who steal content, up to and including legal action in an effort to get accredited for any info taken fron this forum, c) Consider encrypting content. New signups get one months free encryption, say, then some subscription fee applies perhaps? It wont stop determined content miners (they will simply pay up, and continue stealing) but it would stop casual theft, and would limit the number of people who COULD have done it (I know there are holes you could walk an elephant through in this idea, but maybe someone else knows how to make it work), d) Ignore it. Its a pain, but the cures might be worse

2) Attracting new members - Difficult one again. Most of the high security methods for protecting content conflict with this requirement, as restricted access to "good" content reduces the perceived value of this forum when someone first finds it.

I personally stumbled upon it by accident, looking for something completely different, but my eye was caught by the wealth of hugely useful info, and I can see this place becoming a habit. More of a habit.

However, for the long term health of WebmasterWorld, there MUST be a constant trickle of fresh blood (disturbing imagery, but you get the point). If you want to raise serious revenue from the site, it should also be obvious that you must constantly attract new users. This brings me neatly to

3) Revenue - As has already been identified, there are basically 2 methods of raising revenue :- advertising, and subscription. Here though, I'm going to steal an idea from bobking and add %age of sales. There is an obvious market for SEO tools and the like here, and I think it would be appropriate to tap it. I wont go too deep into specifics, but a here are a few ideas :

SEO tools :- consider making them shareware, with some or all of the registration fees and/or download fees going to WebmasterWorld. This would be difficult to apply retrospectively, but any new tools that were made available, or upgrades to old ones could be made available on a "pay to download" basis.
Product reviews of new commercial releases:- I'm sure that many software houses would pay a small sum to place a review their new releases here, where a highly targetted audience could read a comprehensive review from someone they really trust. Similarly, they may well agree to provide beta versions to members of this forum, and pay a commision on conversions to full release software (as well as getting some great beta testing in a "heavy duty" environment). Even if that isnt the right model, I'm sure there is a way of generating imcome from them.

Advertising and subscription both have their pros and cons, which I think are adequately covered elsewhere, but from what I've seen (and personal opinion), people would be more tolerant of advertising in some form, as it offers more of a choice (you dont HAVE to click a banner, or read a text ad), and a significant number of users object on principle to paying subscriptions, particularly for something that used to be free.

Any monies that can be raised from non-members reduces the amount that needs to be raised from members, existing or potential, and therefore reduces the impact of that fund-raising on WebmasterWorld. Ultimately, someone will dislike anything that is done. Some will refuse to pay subscriptions, some will stop visiting if advertising appears, but unless sufficient revenue can be generated externally, I think it is inevitable. The challenge is to miminise loss of user base, whilst maximising income

OK, now some analysis leading to conclusions.

From reading Bretts post, I see the objectives of this exercise as 1) Raising revenue 2) Protecting content and 3) Ensuring the long-term future of WebmasterWorld, not necessarily in that order.

I think it can be taken as given that to fulfill 1) and 3) there absolutely must be a constant stream of new members. Therefore, I would suggest that there must be at least some part of the site that is free to access. There must be sufficient high-quality content to attract new users to the forum, and to make it at least of some use to those who cant, or wont pay a subscription.

Sources of revenue from this section could perhaps include some moderate amount of discreet advertising (maximum cash for minimum disruption), downloads of various software tools (including, but not necessarily limited to SEO tools; users of this forum have other skills and interests), and/or a cut from registration of such software, fees from external software houses wishing to place reviews of their work, and fees from beta testing as outlined above.

Additionally, a subscription-based element could be added to the site, providing very high-quality, and time sensitive content, and possibly some content that will never make it to the public site. Some of the rest could then be made available after a period (a few weeks, a few months, as applicable) in the public section. This would add value to the subscription service, without detracting hugely from the public service.

Sources of revenue could include subscription fees, obviously, and I would suggest that higher fees could be charged for placing ads or reviews etc here, as it is even more highly focussed (likely to be serious players only in this section; please correct me if you think I'm wrong though).

Overall, I dont favour a subscription model particularly. I think enough people would be offended, or in the case of members from countries with an unfavourable exchange rate, would feel unable to pay, to damage the forum to some extent. A partial solution would be basing cost of access on, say, national average wage in the members country of operation (so US members would pay the same in "real terms" as someone in the UK, or Sweden, China, or anywhere. Could be open to abuse though)

However, I feel the "tutor forum" idea has much to recommend it. There are enough genuine experts here to make it worth using. Its an added-value service, everyone might use it at some point, so it wont be seen as an attempt to milk the newbies, and although you have the option of posting to the general fora, I would suggest you'll likely get a faster, more in-depth service if you're paying for it. The details would have to be carefully worked out so no-one will feel cheated, but I think it could be made to work (Discuss - 10 marks).

I think a moderate amount of advertising, carefully targetted, would be a good idea regardless of what else happens. Too much may drive people away, and if theres only a little, carefully selected to be relevant, that should increase peoples willingness to look at what there is (no click-through fatigue).

Content protection is awkward. A subscription model would provide limited protection, at the cost of accessibility, another partial solution would be a "no-lurkers" policy, requiring you to sign up to access anything, to help us identify and bar pinchers of content, but once again it reduces accessibility, and is almost worthless as a security measure as far as I can see (except in the case of a subscription model where it may have limited usefulness).

Overall I favour a mixture of ignoring most of it, but attempting to identify and ban/prosecute persistent offenders. Arrangements with the various boards where stolen content is posted may be possible, getting them to remove it and penalise the thieves. I cant really see a good solution that doesnt conflict with the need to attract new members.

An additional thought on revenue, it would be instructive to get a feel for the numbers involved, ie what is target revenue, at least roughly, how many members are there, how many willing to subscribe (and for how much? Difficult, as the answers will likely depend on whats offered), how much could be raised externally, (ads etc). It would be convenient if ad revenue and the like could be made to cover the whole sum. The forum could then continue to be free, and would likely continue to attract new members without losing any existing ones.

Conclusion (finally!)

I think the best solution is to introduce some advertising, charge a nominal sum for selected software services, introduce the "tutor forum" (at a nominal fee again) and squeeze as much as possible out of sotware companies for reviews etc as possible. I think fees to users need to be low, almost neglible in all cases, to encourage people to use them. Go for the "little added to little makes a great heap" approach. This would provide multiple revenue streams to WebmasterWorld, each producing a little income, but enough overall (I hope), reduce disruption to existing members, and not put off new ones. As to content protection, seek arrangements with the other boards, and seriously consider what action could be taken to identify and punish persistent offenders.

I feel these proposals would fulfil my earlier criteria, and play to the exising strengths of the forum.

OK, now feel free to tear everything apart, and tell everyone what I've missed, and what I've got wrong. I'm sure theres plenty, but this is at least a point of departure